Confirmation of Congressional Observer Access Act of 2023
Floor Speech
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Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 6513) to amend the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to confirm the requirement that States allow access to designated congressional election observers to observe the election administration procedures in congressional elections.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the Senate amendment is as follows:
Senate amendment:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE
This Act may be cited as the ``Confirmation Of Congressional Observer Access Act of 2024'' or the ``COCOA Act of 2024''. SEC. 2. ACCESS FOR CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION OBSERVERS.
(a) Access Required.--Title III of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating section 304 and 305 as sections 305 and 306; and
(2) by inserting after section 303 the following new section: ``SEC. 304. ACCESS FOR CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION OBSERVERS.
``(a) Finding of Constitutional Authority.--Congress finds that, regardless of legislative action, it has the authority to send congressional election observers to observe polling locations, any location where processing, scanning, tabulating, canvassing, recounting, auditing, or certifying voting results is occurring, or any other part of the process associated with elections for Federal office under the authorities granted under article 1, section 5, clause 1 and article 1, section 4, clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States. Procedures described herein do not establish any new authorities or procedures with respect to Congress' constitutional authority to observe congressional elections but are provided simply to permit a convenient statutory reference for existing congressional authority and activity.
``(b) Requiring States To Provide Access for Observers.--
``(1) Requirement.--A State shall provide each individual who is acting as a designated congressional election observer for an election for Federal office with full access to clearly observe all elements of election administration procedures, including, but not limited to, access to any area in which a ballot is cast, processed, scanned, tabulated, canvassed, recounted, audited, or certified, including during pre- and post-election procedures.
``(2) Restrictions on activities of observers.--No designated congressional election observer may handle a ballot or election equipment (whether voting or nonvoting or whether tabulating or nontabulating), advocate for any position or candidate, take any action to reduce ballot secrecy or voter privacy, take any action to interfere with the ability of a voter to cast a ballot or an election administrator to carry the administrator's duties, or otherwise interfere with the election administration process.
``(3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall prohibit a designated congressional election observer from asking questions of an election administrator, election official, or election worker, or any other State or local official.
``(c) Conduct of Observers.--
``(1) Removal.--
``(A) Authorization removal by election official.--If a State or local election official has a reasonable basis to believe that a designated congressional election observer has engaged in or imminently will engage in intimidation or deceptive practices prohibited by Federal law, or in the disruption of voting, processing, scanning, tabulating, canvassing, or recounting of ballots, or the certification of results, a State or local election official may remove that observer from the area involved.
``(B) Notice to committee.--If a designated congressional election observer is removed from an area under subparagraph (A), the election official shall, within 24 hours of the observer'' removal--
``(i) inform the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives; or the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, as applicable; and
``(ii) provide written notice detailing the reason or reasons the designated congressional election observer was removed.
``(2) Rule of construction.--For purposes of this subsection, the mere presence of a designated congressional election observer during an observation of election administration procedures, without any additional indicia supporting a reasonable basis for removal, is not a sufficient reason for removal under paragraph (1)(A).
``(3) Right to replace observer.--If a designated congressional election observer is properly removed under subparagraph (1)(A), the chair or ranking minority member of the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives or the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, as appropriate, may send another designated congressional election observer as a replacement for the remaining duration of the observation of election administration procedures.
``(d) Designated Congressional Election Observer Described.--In this section, a `designated congressional election observer' is a House or Senate employee who is designated in writing by the chair or ranking minority member of the Committee on House Administration of the House of Representatives or the Committee on Rules and Administration of the Senate, or a successor committee, to gather information with respect to an election, including in the event that the election is contested in the House of Representatives or the Senate and for other purposes permitted by article 1, section 5, clause 1 and article 1, section 4, clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States.
``(e) State Defined.--In this section `State' means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment Relating to Enforcement.--Section 401 of such Act (52 U.S.C. 21111) is amended by striking ``and 303'' and inserting ``303, and 304''.
(c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of such Act is amended--
(1) by redesignating the items relating to sections 304 and 305 as relating to sections 305 and 306; and
(2) by inserting after the item relating to section 303 the following: ``Sec. 304. Confirming access for congressional election observers.''.
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Mr. STEIL. 6513.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 6513, the Confirmation of Congressional Observer Access Act, or COCOA Act.
Ensuring the fairness and accuracy of our elections is of utmost importance for me as chairman of the Committee on House Administration, which has broad oversight for our Nation's Federal elections.
The Election Observer Program is one of the key ways the committee has worked to strengthen our election administration practices.
Since 1933 there have been 110 contested election cases considered in the House. This averages to two contests per Congress.
Congressional observers collect on-the-ground factual information for Congress and my committee for these potential election contests.
During the 2020 election cycle, House election observers were deployed to Iowa's Second District to oversee the administration of the election of our now-colleague, Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks. She went on to win the contested race by only six votes, and trained House election observers were instrumental in gathering the information the committee needed to seat the rightful winner.
The Constitution grants Congress the authority to ``be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own Members.'' It is under this constitutional authority that the House established the nonpartisan Election Observer Program.
In the 2022 election cycle, observers were deployed to roughly 25 sites across the country. Dozens of offices have already signed up to participate in this year's program for the election that concludes in just 41 days.
With the help of our colleagues in the Senate, this election is now expanded to encompass a Senate program similar to the one we run in the House.
I am working to ensure election observers can be deployed across States as needed. At a recent committee hearing, six secretaries of State from both parties testified they would provide unimpeded access to our Election Observer Program in the upcoming election. I will continue to work to ensure every State and locality across the country will welcome our observers.
Strong election integrity increases confidence and participation in our elections, which is a good thing.
Providing a Federal statutory citation for these election observers to monitor election administration practices will achieve that goal. Elections are partisan, but the administration of our elections should never be partisan.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the ranking member of the Committee on House Administration, for his work on this important legislation, as well as the staffs of both the minority and the majority for coming together in a timely manner to get this across the line as well as our colleagues in the Senate.
Mr. Speaker, having no further comments on the bill, I urge everyone to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. STEIL. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
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